Analysis

by Radostina Pavlova, radostinapav@gmail.com On April 12, 2019, the Bulgarian National Assembly voted in second reading to adopt a Bill to Amend and Complement the Law on Foreigners in R. Bulgaria (LFRB) (in Bulgarian). In addition to the LFRB, the Bill will see changes of some of the provisions of the Law on Asylum and…

By Radostina Pavlova, radostinapav@gmail.com The date 18 March 2017 marked the one-year anniversary of the EU-Turkey Statement,[1] commonly known as the “EU-Turkey deal”. The deal was meant to stem migration flows from Turkey towards Europe’s shores, offering Turkey in exchange visa liberalization in the foreseeable future and a financial injection in the amount of 3…

By Borislav Dimitrov, boryslav.p@gmail.com On March 7th, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in the case of X and X v État belge (Case C-638/16 PPU) that Member States are not required, under the Visa Code Regulation (the “Visa Code”) and European Union (EU) law in general, to grant a humanitarian…

By Center for Legal Aid – Voice in Bulgaria* By virtue of its geography, Bulgaria is likely the most important land border of the European Union with regards to recent migration flows and Europe’s efforts to keep asylum seekers off the continent’s territory. It borders both Turkey, where millions of refugees reside and which is…

by Radostina Pavlova A landmark decision of the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) from January 2016 may improve substantially the state of human rights for detainees in the closed centres for foreigners awaiting deportation, sparing them the humiliation and pain of body searches and solitary confinement. The ruling in successful lawsuit against the Ministry of…

An analysis of 55 rulings of the Sofia City Administrative Court, related to the detention of migrants in the Busmantsi closed centre, shows that it is relatively easy for the police to find reasons to issue detention orders. Not having ID documents or having already served a prison sentence for crossing the border illegally are…

by José Antonio Sanchez Manzano The former Jewish neighbourhood close to Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) in Sofia, ”Iuchbunar”, is now called Little Beirut more and more often, because of the growing number of inhabitants of Arabic origin. During the day the streets of the most multicultural part of the capital are colorful and merry, filled…

By Radostina Pavlova Just two months after the coming into force of the changes in the Law on the Asylum and Refugees (LAR), which granted powers to the Bulgarian State Agency for the Refugees (SAR) to place asylum seekers in closed centres (see Law allows detention of asylum seekers in Bulgaria), the LAR was amended…

Amendments of the Law on the Asylum and Refugees grant the Bulgarian State Agency for the Refugees the power to place asylum seekers in closed centres. These broad discretionary powers pose risks of arbitrary detention and corruption.